Gifting back

American land owners win tax relief on charitable donations

Canadian conservation organizations have long sought a legal and financial mechanism to allow American landowners to donate land – or an interest in it, such as a conservation easement. After several years, through the efforts of American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (AFoCLT), this is now possible. The “Cross Border Land Conservation Program” is paying off for players on both sides of the border.

Prior to this initiative (which was approved by the federal government last October), Americans who owned land in Canada would have to pay Canadian capital tax on their conservation gifts.

Bonnie Sutherland, one of the founders of AFoCLT says, “Once that technical change was made, we were able to set up the first model projects. We’ve worked through all the legal and tax issues for both an outright gift of land and conservation easements.” (Conservation easements can mean the difference between keeping family land in the family versus having to sell it to pay the inheritance taxes.)

Currently, there are 17 AFoCLT projects underway across Canada; five of these are in Nova Scotia. With over 20 per cent of the coastline in non-resident ownership, this means that residents can look forward to having more land to enjoy – land that neither conservation groups nor the provincial government could afford to buy.

The Nova Scotia Nature Trust was the first Canadian land trust to connect potential donors with American Friends. Result? Boston resident Merloyd Lawrence donated an easement on 130 acres surrounding Little Annapolis Lake in Nova Scotia. She advises other Americans who love a place and want it to stay unspoiled to connect to this program. She adds, “This gives us the opportunity to be a small part of preserving Canada’s unique natural legacy – that beautiful, irreplaceable wild land that drew us to Canada in the first place.”

By Sandra Phinney